Silhouette
A silhouette is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior. The term comes from Etienne de Silhouette, a finance minister of
Louis XV who practiced the art of silhouette papercutting.
Encyclopedia
A
silhouette is a view of an object or scene consisting of the outline and a featureless interior. The term comes from Etienne de Silhouette, a finance minister of
Louis XV who practiced the art of silhouette papercutting.
In art
A silhouette is a form of
artwork. It is most commonly a human
portrait in profile, in black. Most silhouettes are formed by tracing the
shadow of the subject and cutting along the resultant outline.
Silhouette portraits were fashionable around the year 1800. Subsequently they have been used for book illustration, for example by
Arthur Rackham.
Military usage
Silhouettes of ships, planes, tanks, and other vessels used by the military are used by soldiers and saliors for recognition purposes. See
Jane's Fighting Ships,
aircraft recognition.
In graphic design
To silhouette is to separate a portion of an image so that it does not show. For instance, a background.
See also
External links
- List of silhouette artists, both living and historical.
- Guild of American Papercutters
- Fashion silhouettes from the 1920s and 1930s.
- A collection of silhouette style photographs.
